by R Weir
Attempting to stand I was struck again on my shoulder, the pain all too real. I tried to roll but couldn’t get anywhere, my path blocked. Something kicked me in the ribs, the wind leaving me. I tried to suck in what air I could, considering options, but there were none. I heard footsteps but couldn’t see a thing. I knew I was done for, if they wanted me dead.
Someone grabbed me by the hair and spoke into my ear.
“Quit messing where you don’t belong, or you will end up dead,” said the voice. “Do you understand?”
My mind wavered on what to say. How to answer.
“You should gargle before heading out to rough up people. Your breath stinks.” I coughed out.
He wasn’t laughing. “I heard you were a funny guy.”
“We can go inside. I have some Scope in the medicine cabinet you can borrow.”
It would be my last words as he punched me in the face, my head striking the ground. There was little I could do as I felt another kick or two, before hearing sirens, the noise of those two gunshots saving me, and then all was still.
My mind drifted in and out. I heard voices, some I knew, others I didn’t. Was I taking that long walk to purgatory, a chance to cleanse my sins, the weigh station to heaven or hell? Would family be there to greet and make me feel welcome? I saw lights. They were bright and sounds of human traffic all around me. Someone asked, “Is he going to make it” with a positive response from another voice. All seemed peaceful, and numb, until pain started to wake me up. And it was wall to wall. There was only one word for it.
“Fuck!” I said, to whoever was there listening.
“He is coming around. Jarvis, can you hear us?”
I didn’t know the voice that was calling my name, but I had a feeling I had to answer. “Yes. Who is this?” My eyes weren’t open or if they were I couldn’t see much.
“Denver paramedic. You’ve been injured. Likely beaten. Can you tell me where it hurts?”
“Be easier to list where it doesn’t. Side, ribs, neck and my jaw for certain.” I groaned.
“You may have some broken bones. We are going to take our time checking you. How does this feel?”
He started probing me on my left side, his hand checking for injuries. It wasn’t pleasant.
“Fuck!” I said again.
“Painful there.”
“Fuck yes. The more f-words I use the worse the pain.” I gasped as I took a breath and felt pain shoot across my chest.
“I see you haven’t lost your sense of humor,” he chuckled.
“As long as I have it and my teeth, life is good.”
The paramedic laughed and continued the exam. If he missed any injured spots, it wasn’t from trying. There wasn’t an inch on my body that wasn’t hurting. Soon they had me strapped to a backboard and a brace around my neck. I was on a gurney and in the ambulance, when I heard a familiar female voice.
“Couldn’t stay out of trouble,” said April. “My last night of work, and you end up in the hospital. Now I get to spend the night in an uncomfortable chair and not in your warm bed.”
“Sorry, I didn’t know you were planning to stop by.”
She leaned down and whispered in my ear. “I was going to sneak into your place, crawl in your bed and do unspeakable things to you.”
“That might be the one part of my body that isn’t hurting,” I replied, coughing. “I always wanted to do it in a hospital bed. Tonight, could be the night.”
Leaning down she kissed me, before climbing out of the ambulance. “Once my shift is over, I’ll stop by and check on you.”
The ride wasn’t too long, and I was wheeled into the ER at Swedish Medical Center. They ran all types of tests, finding nothing broken, but lots of bruising. The doctors, nurses and techs were nice enough, but I still hated hospitals.
I talked to so many people, having to explain repeatedly what happened. The police included. I’d have been happy to tell them I knew who the attackers were, but I didn’t. I was tired, and hurt like hell, even with the pain meds.
Several hours passed and I finally fell asleep, though it wasn’t good rest. If there were carnal activities awaiting tonight, I’d have to perform them in my sleep.
Chapter 32
I spent the whole next day in the hospital, being stir crazy and finding little to watch on TV. There was only so much Friends and King of Queens a man could stomach. I was bruised and battered, with a slight concussion that was still ringing in my head, so I was forced to follow doctor’s orders. There were times I considered sneaking out, but there was a feisty nurse on my floor that might have been trained by ninjas. I slept as well as I could with all the monitoring machines confirming I was still alive.
Finally reaching my limit and after insisting strongly that the hospital bed could be used for sicker people, they let me go home the following morning. To my chagrin, I was carted out in a wheelchair, which was overkill, but policy. April was there to drive me home. I made it down my stairs, each step painful, without incident and sat on the sofa.
“What can I get you?” asked April with a look of sympathy as I groaned.
“A beer, if I have any.”
“No alcohol while on the pain meds. Bad combination,” she tutted.
“I won’t be taking any more pain meds, other than Advil. They can be worse in the long run than my injuries.”
“Tough guy.”
“Not really. But I’m not getting hooked on any opioids. I’ve read enough to know I don’t need that strong of a medicine for a few bumps and bruises. Besides, my health plan co-pay is expensive.”
She smiled. “What is on your agenda today?”
My ribs were wrapped, bruises aching, face swollen. Yet I wanted to move, get up, workout, and walk; something other than nothing.
“Let’s go for a walk.”
It took me a minute to rise from the sofa, my face contorted from the pain.
“You should rest.”
“I’ve been resting enough in the hospital. My muscles need movement. And I’d say for now sex is out of the question. I’ll start slow by walking, and work my way up to kissing you all over. It is a lovely day out.”
Her smile turned to a laugh. “Sounds like a plan.”
She opened the door and I made my way up the stairs. It was a slow go, but I did it, my sides and back aching with each step. She knew me well and didn’t offer to help.
The sun was bright, but not hot, with a nice breeze making for a perfect fall day. I plodded along, stiffness showing, but after a block I loosened up some and was moving only slightly slower than normal. There would be no jogging. That would come in time.
“Moving pretty well for someone in the hospital the last couple of days,” April said.
I resisted telling her it hurt like hell and just kept moving. I was going to go as far as I could.
“What did you tell the detectives about your attackers?” she asked.
“Not much. It was dark, and I couldn’t get too good a look at them. The car was a BMW, or Mercedes I believe, but I couldn’t see the plate.”
I saw on her face, she didn’t quite believe me.
“We’ve been together long enough for me to tell when you’re holding back.” She pursed her lips.
I wanted to laugh, but the pain in my ribs told me otherwise, so I resisted.
“You’ve been around Mallard too much. Remind me not to play poker with you two.”
“You know something you’re not telling?”
“Are you a cop right now or my girlfriend?” It was an honest question, though it may have come out more harshly than I’d intended.
“I’m not on duty, if that is what you mean.” April sounded slightly peeved.
I thought about it while walking, deciding on making a trip around the block, which I knew I could handle.
“They were sloppy. Car was running, tail lights on, so I got a plate number. I planned on getting Bill to run it in a day or so.”
“You didn’t trust m
e?” She looked hurt.
Internal Affairs had investigated her shooting and involvement with me last year. In the end she was cleared, but still it would show on her record. It was wonderful, even thrilling knowing that she had my back. But I didn’t want to hurt her career.
“More like I didn’t want to get you involved. You got enough heat last year after getting shot helping me,” I countered gently.
She scoffed. “You know I can take it. Give me the number and I’ll get you a name. I won’t rat you out. What else didn’t you tell them?”
“There were three of them and I’m pretty sure they worked for a legal firm, Whitelaw & Associates, who wanted me to back off…” Right there I remembered something. “Crap!”
“What?”
“Barry was going to get me some information on who their clients were. But I needed to drop a check off at his office.”
“We can head back, get my car and drive over. I love being your chauffeur.” She winked.
“No matter what we are doing, so long as we are together.” I put my hand over my heart and she laughed.
“I can think of other more enjoyable things to do, but this will work for now. Besides, someone needs to have your back while you aren’t your best. I’d just as soon not have to visit you in the hospital again, or worse the morgue.” Her face turned serious.
“Chauffeur and bodyguard. I couldn’t have asked for better.” I was genuinely touched to have her with me.
“Actually, I think you can do better…Rocky,” she suggested after a moment’s thought.
I shook my head. “He’s tied up right now on his own investigation.”
She looked disappointed, and then concerned. “I can’t do this for too long. I do have to go back to work. My three days off are done after tomorrow. Then I’m back for another string of long shifts. Call him. Otherwise I’ll have to call in sick to protect you.”
“I didn’t know you cared.”
She stopped for a minute as we neared my stairwell, turning to face me.
“I’m pretty aloof, when it comes to our relationship. I enjoy our time together, even a long walk with a hobbled man.” She stopped, searching for the right words to use. “It’s uncomplicated and carefree. No pressure to be any more than what we are. Lovers, who enjoy our time together. But I’ll say it out loud. I do care and would prefer death not break us up. We have a good thing and I don’t want it to end.”
I looked into her eyes, seeing a little bit of wetness. She was a tough woman, who had survived a serious gunshot wound a year earlier, yet I don’t recall many tears from her. I put my arms around her, hugging her as much as I could without hurting myself, then kissed her passionately on the lips.
“I care for you, too.”
It wasn’t a proclamation of love, but it was the best the two of us could do right now. It felt good to bring our feelings to light.
With check in hand, April drove me to Barry’s office. It was east of DU on Evans, in a reasonably nice building, up on the second floor. I walked in and his assistant was answering calls. She was capable, efficient and nice to look at. All part of Barry’s mission statement of who to hire. I dropped the check on her desk, and after looking it over, she pulled a file from the top of a filing cabinet behind her and handed to me.
“Mine to keep?” I asked of her.
She nodded. “You paid the going rate. Paper is cheap and easy to make copies.”
I thanked her and went outside, where April sat in her car. She was doing a fantastic job of protecting me, no one had tried to kill me yet while she was around. And one couldn’t beat her rates.
“Anything good in there?” she asked.
I started combing through. There was a short list of definite clients and a few maybes. Simon Lions’ name wasn’t listed, but there was a state senator on there that sounded familiar. His wife was a client, a plastic surgeon, whose last name had a hyphen, the first part Lions.
“This can’t a coincidence,” I said, while handing the sheet to April. “Look at the doctor’s name, married to the state senator.”
“A relative of Simon’s?”
“Looks like it. Maybe a sister or cousin. I’ll have to check with Jonas, but he said Simon had some connections.”
“A state senator would qualify. The question is, why would they want to get involved in this?” inquired April.
I really couldn’t say for certain. But I was for damn sure going to find out.
Chapter 33
I was sitting in a parking lot watching fighter jets take off and land at Buckley Air Field in Aurora—the powerful F-16’s roaring with ease through the air. Rocky’s white Corvette remained cool from the air conditioning, the heat from the warm midday sun beating down and still managing to fight against the cool air in the car, despite the dark tinted windows. I had spent two days resting up, one with April. One enjoyable night together, though she had to do most of the work. I was moving slowly still, something she took pleasure in.
The second day I went to the gym, swam as much as my body would allow and then sat in the hot tub temporarily soaking away the pain. I got plenty of looks, people noticing the bruises with raised eyebrows and distaste, but most didn’t question me about what happened. Members had seen them before on me. It was nothing new.
Now it was time to get back to the work at hand, so I called Rocky, and we setup a meeting for early afternoon. I drove, parking next to him and got out of my car slowly and climbed into his.
“Still driving that old Mustang,” said Rocky. “Amazing it’s still running all these years later.”
“Classic cars defy time,” I replied.
“Classic and old mean essentially the same thing. You can also have something stylish and new, a modern classic.”
I looked around at his car. The leather seats and trim, gauges and computer technology, all for the modern man, at a premium cost I could never afford.
“It’s a nice car. But I’ll stick with the Mustang. Riding the Harley allows me to hold onto it a while longer.”
“It goes well with your face,” Rocky said giving me a pointed look. “Bruised and battered.” My hand touched my cheek, where it still hurt. “Limps along like you as well, I could see you hobbling and wincing when you got in the car,” Rocky joked.
“Ran into three guys who didn’t like me for some reason. Wish I could say they look worse than me, but I can’t.” I grimaced, as I adjusted to find a more comfortable placement in the seat.
“You do have tendency to piss people off. Whose nerve did you get under this time?”
“To be determined. That is why I’m here. I may need some assistance myself. I’ve got a plate for a car. I plan on watching it for a day or so, see who’s driving, find the right time to corner them and ask them a few questions.”
“Why do you need me for that?”
“If two, or all three are there, I want to go in with more even odds.”
“And my being there will accomplish this?” His eyes were staring off into the horizon.
“If you were there by yourself, they would be out-manned. Mostly I need the backup, like you’ve needed in your own quest. How is that going by the way?”
One of the jets took off. Though they were aging, the F-16 smoothly headed into space. Even though I hated flying, getting a ride in one of those would be fun.
“Big house on some farmland east of here,” said Rocky. “Heavy security, and so far, I’ve found no weak point for getting in. I’ve seen a few semis coming and going, unloading into a large metal building. I haven’t learned exactly what they are bringing in, but I doubt it’s laundry soap.”
The word had been drugs, guns or both. Either one would provide a large payday and not be good for the neighborhood if they hit the streets.
“With all the security, how is it you haven’t been seen?”
“I’m that good, why else.” His face was blank.
I grinned. “Sorry, I should have known better. What is your plan?”
“I haven’t come up with one yet. I’ve rented a townhouse nearby, so I can stay close and look like someone who lives there. Trying to stay inconspicuous.”
Looking at Rocky it was hard to think he can stay inconspicuous, being his size and driving a flashy car.
“The one problem I have is the landlord, owner of the townhome. I think she is warm for my form. Keeps coming back checking on me and bringing baked goods.”
“Hard to stay under the radar. Maybe I should stop by and we can make like we’re a couple?”
Rocky looked at me like I was insane, as I started laughing, though I had to stop when pain shot from my ribs.
“Just a thought.” I held onto the smile. It didn’t hurt as much.
Rocky snorted. “She might buy you as being gay, but she’ll never come to grips with me playing for the other side. Besides, I can’t complain about her cooking and she doesn’t look all that bad. Never know, I might take her up on the offer.”
I feigned hurt. “You’re only saying that to make me jealous.”
Again, I got the look. Sometimes I took it too far. At least in this case he wouldn’t beat the crap out of me. Or so I hoped.
“If we can’t be lovers, can you give me a couple of days to shadow this guy?”
“Not if you keep talking like that!” he said almost with a growl.
“I can hold my tongue.”
“Good. I can provide backup. Two days only. If you feel you’re ready. You look a little worse for wear.”
“Not my A game, but close enough and getting better each day.”
I wasn’t sure he was convinced, but he nodded. “When and where?”
“Starting tomorrow. We can meet here.”
I handed him the address and crawled slowly out of his car. My muscles were stiff but getting better. I groaned as I climbed into my Mustang for the trek back home, a long hot shower on my agenda.
Chapter 34
The Butcher hadn’t explained his failure. He had kept it secret. Watching the news, he had seen no mention of the attack. This was good. If they kept it quiet, no word would need to be spoken right away. Shame of his mistake filled him, losing out on the treasure he’d longed to explore. He did not want to feel the wrath of his mentor. Pleasing him was important. A pleasure only surpassed by the trophies on his surgical table. He couldn’t keep it quiet for long though. A call would be coming, with the mentor asking about the next victim, when it would occur and why it was taking so long, then getting mad when he learned, The Butcher feeling shame. But there was no going back. Another would have to take her place.